Chikkamagaluru research centre develops models to harvest rainwater, recharge borewells

Innovative rainwater harvesting solutions developed by Michael Sadananda Baptist in Hadihalli, Chikkamagaluru to combat water crisis.

Failure to get the water required for a six-acre farm even after drilling 28 borewells forced Michael Sadananda Baptist, a mechanical engineer, to take up research on rainwater harvesting.

His quest to understand ways to conserve rainwater resulted in setting up the Rainy Research and Innovation Factory with friends and family members. Now, the firm, after decades of research and innovations in the field, has come up with suggestions for the State government and the public to resolve the water crisis during the tough days of drought.

Mr. Baptist, briefing a team of journalists, that visited his research centre at Hadihalli in Chikkamagaluru taluk, explained the effective models that help the public conserve large quantities of rainwater.

The firm also has workable models to recharge borewells in agricultural fields and to harvest rainwater in large structures. The investment in research and development by the firm has resulted in patents for filters that it developed.

Mr. Baptist’s in-depth research into making rainwater harvesting affordable and easy helped the firm develop models suitable for individual households.

“A family with a house built on 1,200 sqft (30x40 sft) of area can have a rooftop rainwater harvesting system by investing around ₹16,000 to ₹18,000. In the case of a 2,400 sqft (60x40 sft), the amount will be between ₹28,000 and ₹35,000, including the filters. This is the right time to have the system in place, as it can help conserve the water in the coming rainy season,” he said.

For recharging borewells, the firm has developed V-Wire injection well technology. This technology had been implemented to recharge over 650 borewells of the Social Welfare Department. “This can be taken up on a large scale to recharge government borewells if the State shows interest”, he said.